Learning to Breathe
by ProjectWeAreOne
Summary: A mix between the movies, game, and cartoon verses. AU to the episode "Go Fly A Kite". Turns out Verne really is a Tannen, but his mother is a Miskin.
1. It's my family too isn't it?

**Hopefully starting this story now will help me get over the writer's block I'm having with _The Ninja Companion Prologue 1._ This is an AU idea that's been in my head for a while. It's mainly based around the episode _Go Fly a Kite_ Which is my favorite episode of the cartoon. I don't want it to be seen as a fix fic though, but rather an AU. It also retcons _A Verne By Any Other Name,_ which is actually my second favorite episode. For reference this is how I chronologically place things: The movies happened first, the game, and the cartoon. I know the cartoon and game have been stated to be non canon by Bob Gale, but I personally see them as canon, and happening in that order. Some chapters, mostly this one, uses dialogue from _Go Fly a Kite_ Which is copyrighted by _Universal Cartoon Studios_. (Which apparently is the first thing made by that subsidiary of Universal. What a honor for them, getting to make such an amazing show! Then they went on to make my favorite Universal film _Balto II: Wolf Quest._ ) I hope you enjoy!**

Jules Eratosthenes Brown and his younger brother Verne Newton Brown, were both playing a board game. Verne grinned cheekily as he grabbed the dice and rolled them onto the game board. He proclaimed, "Box cars! All right!", before turning to his brother and adding, "I'm baking your beans now, Mr. Wizard!"

His character landed on a question mark square which glowed a few times before a hologram of Biff Tannen appeared, telling him, "Bonehead move, butthead!"

"Bummer!" Verne said, partly upset, partly annoyed. His character fell through a trap door in the square and a loud buzzing was heard, signifying the end of the game.

"To no one's surprise you have been defeated once again." Jules said, walking over to a small chalkboard and putting another line by his name. "My calculations indicate that you, the loser, must now take out the garbage for the next 753 weeks."

"Rats! Rats! Double Rats! How come you always win!?" Verne yelled, stomping on the ground.

"Face it, Verne." Jules said as he started to fold up the game board, "You lack the basic intellectual skills one would naturally expect in a member of the Brown lineage. You show no aptitude for science whatsoever. You fail to resemble mother, father, or myself in any of the primary phrenological specifications, and as a capper, father has failed to provide you with your own personal hoverboard." He walked over to his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. "The conclusion should be obvious, even to you Verne. You're adopted."

Those words made Verne angry. "Take that back or I'll punch you out!"

Jules put his palm against his brother's forehead, avoiding said 'punch out'. "You and what body of organized servicemen?"

Suddenly a helicopter speaker of their father's invention flew into the room. From it their mother Clara spoke, "Jules! Verne! Hush up your caterwauling and come to supper!"

"Ah, that would be my biological mother." Jules said. "Would you care to join _my_ family for dinner?"

"It's my family too!" Verne said, starting to get more annoyed by Jules' teasing.

"Really?" Jules asked. "Then why are no baby pictures of you?"

"Well I..." Verne paused. Were there baby pictures of him? He'd never seen one.

"For all we know, you might even be a Tannen!"

Verne felt his blood go cold, before going red faced in anger. He screamed before getting into his bathtub cart and heading to his dad's lab.

Doc was telling Einstein all about his new invention that allowed him to take pictures of any famous historical figure.

"Dad!" Came a voice from outside.

"Yes,Vernie?" Doc asked, still looking at the screen of his invention. Suddenly he straightened up and yelled, "No, Vernie!"

Verne's car crashed into Doc, and Verne ended up on top of the flipped vehicle. He grabbed his shirt tightly and bellowed, "What gives pop!? Am I a Tannen!?"

Doc stayed silent and stood up, helping Verne to his feet too.

A few moments later he placed his hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you all right son?"

Verne jerked away and demanded, "Am I a Tannen or not!?"

Doc looked away. "...Yes...You are."

It was Verne's turn to freeze. His breath become heavy and tears filled his eyes.

Doc sighed and knelt down to his level. "Vernie, listen-"

"M-my mom's a f—filthy Tannen!" Verne cried.

"Actually...your father is the one who's a Tannen. Kid Tannen. Your mother is a very lovely woman though. Actually she's Marty's grandmother, Sylvia Miskin-McFly. Back when I knew her she went under the stage name Trixie Trotter. In 1930 she became pregnant with you, and when you were born we saved you from-"

A light above Doc's invention flashed. "It looks like dinner's ready."

"I don't care about dinner!" Verne yelled, hitting his foot against the ground. "I want to know about mom!"

"I think we should discuss this with your mother, come on." Doc said, heading towards the house, Einstein following close behind.

Verne wiped his eyes and sniffled. He followed Doc for a few steps before stopping. His stomach churned and he realized he couldn't do this. He couldn't stay with them. Slowly he made his way towards the DeLorean and got in. "All right Doctor Brown...I-I'll discuss it with my mother..."

Verne changed the year to 1930, and pushed the gas peddle until it hit 88.


	2. The Thunder Rolls

As Verne pulled The DeLorean in 1930, rain poured down, splattering off the sides of the car.

"Great…" Verne sighed. He squinted out the window, but couldn't make anything out. All there was, was gray. _Maybe I should just stay here until it stops raining._

Suddenly a loud boom of thunder sounded. _Or not….._ He opened the door and quickly hopped out. Shivering, Verne looked around for a place to take shelter.

The first place he saw was the Hill Valley Courthouse, which he hurried to. However, before he could open the door he heard something from the other side:

"You need to be more focused son!"

"Yes father…."

"Your head is always in clouds! This is a serious line of work and expect you-"

"Yes, father I understand."

"Don't interrupt me, young man! I know you don't understand at all!"

"Please, listen to me, I-"

"No, _you_ listen to _me_! I didn't give you a chance to work here so you could mess around with such ridiculous things!"

Verne pulled away. _Well, I feel bad for whoever that is..._

He looked at the rest of Hill Valley, trying to find a place to go. From there he could see a bookshop. The lights were off inside, and Verne could just barely make out a _Sorry We're Closed!,_ sign. Finally he spotted a small cafe with the lights on. Verne ran over to the cafe, getting soaking wet in the process. The clerk and the customers looked over at Verne as he started to wring his hat out. He sat down and hugged his knees to his chest, shivering a bit.

"Hey, kid!" The clerk called. Verne looked up. "Are you here to order something or what?!"

"Oh uh..." Verne dug through his pockets looking for any money, but wouldn't find any. With a small sheepish grin he looked the man in the eyes.

The man shook his head and sighed in annoyance. "Listen, kid. This is a place of business, I can't just have kids hang out here for free. So either you buy something or get out. Okay?"

Verne stumbled back, a bit scared by his tone.

"Well, kid?"

Verne gulped and exited the cafe. Thunder rung loudly through the air, causing him to stumble back. Shivering, he looked around. In the distance there was an unmarked white building that looked like it might be pretty dry.

Verne hurried over. Without hesitation he went inside. As he looked around, he noted it didn't look as abandoned as he thought: There were stools lined up against a bar counter, and chairs pushed up to small round tables. Some had decks of cards and poker chips on them. Along the walls were bottles and bottles of liquor.

Figuring this might just be a bar, Verne sat down in one of the chairs and hugged himself to warm up.

"Hello there."

At the sound of the voice, Verne nervously turned around. There stood a young woman in about her late twenties, with blonde hair and beautiful green eyes.

"H-hi..." Verne managed to say.

The woman pulled out a chair and sat beside him. "A speakeasy really isn't a good place for a kid like you to be hanging out."

"A speakeasy?" Verne hadn't heard this word before.

"Yeah, you know. A place that serves alcohol."

Verne furrowed his brows. "You mean like a bar?"

She giggled a bit. "Not really, kid. There haven't been bars for a long time."

'Really? How come?"

The woman blinked in confusion. "Well...alcohol's been illegal since the 20s, kid..."

"Then why can this place sell it?" 

She bit her lip and averted her eyes. "This...isn't exactly a legal operation."

"Oh."

The two stayed silent for a moment. Finally the woman spoke, "So, what's your name, kid?"

"Verne. You?"

"I'm Trixie. Trixie Trotter."

The widest smile formed on Verne's face. "Mom!" He hugged her tightly and snuggled close. Trixie didn't know how to react at first, but eventually she decided to return the hug.

"Mom,huh?" She giggled. "That's pretty cute, kid."

Verne cuddled as close as possible to his mother. _I can't believe it's her!_ After a few moments he realized something and pulled back. To Trixie's confusion he put his hand on her stomach, then asked, "Are...are you pregnant?"

Trixie stiffened, the air felt dense and hard on her lungs. She looked at Verne with wide eyes. "How did you...?"

"Because I'm your..." Verne stopped himself. "Uh, I mean because, uh, you..look pregnant?"

Trixie rested her head in her hands. "Oh God...If a kid could figure it out, then..." She looked over with sad eyes and pursed lips. "I haven't even told Kid yet. He just thinks I've been gaining weight."

At the mention of a Tannen, Verne felt a shiver of anger rush through him. At the same time his stomach churned at the thought of being a Tannen himself.

"Hey. You okay?"

Verne snapped out of his trance. "Y-yeah I'm fine." The shiver didn't go away.

Trixie stroked her stomach lightly. "I only have five more months to tell him."

Verne frowned,placing his hand on her arm. Outside, thunder roared loudly, causing Verne to jump a bit and latch onto his mom.

"I don't think the storm's gonna stop anytime soon, kid." Trixie said, holding the shaking child close to her chest. "I guess we'll have to spend the night here."

"H-h-here?" Verne squeaked out.

"Aw, it's not so bad kid. I've had to sleep here a few times when the weather was bad." She picked up Verne and headed to the back. On the ground was and old,worn out, caseless pillow, and an old tattered purple blanket. Trixie put the blanket over both of them, then pulled Verne close.

Verne ignored how itchy the blanket and snuggled against her, smiling. He let out a small yawn and fell asleep, glad to be with his real mother.


	3. Life Starts Now

"Trixie!"

Both she and Verne woke up with a jolt. A man with short black hair, a thin black mustache, and piercing green eyes, was glaring down at them. He reached out and gripped Verne's arm tightly. "Who is this?"

"Kid." Trixie said nervously. "Please he's just a child."

He looked the kid in the eyes. "What's your name?" He asked in a near growl.

"V-V-Verne."

"And what exactly do you think you're doing here?"

"Kid, please!" Trixie begged. "He came here last night when it was raining. H-he didn't even know it was a speakeasy!"

Kid looked at Verne who was shaking quite a bit. Kid sighed in annoyance and put him down. "Just keep him out of the way. All right tutz?"

Trixie relaxed, pulling Verne close to her. "I promise. Thanks."

Kid grumbled a bit as he left. Verne felt sick. _How can he be my dad!? Well...At least he doesn't steal kids like Doctor Brown..._ To comfort himself he snuggled closer to Trixie. "Thanks, mom."

She giggled as she got up. "You're adorable,kid. So, where do you live?"

"I...I don't know."

Trixie looked worried. "Oh...Well, do you know where your parents are?"

Verne figured, 'My phony parents are in 1991' was not the answer she'd want. Instead he said, "I...I don't know."

"I could take you around town and we could look."

"They don't live here."

Trixie frowned even more and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, kid. I wish I could help."

"It's all right, mom."

She sighed. "I guess if you're all alone, you can stay with me."

Verne's eyes shined and he smiled widely. "Thanks, mom!"

"I need some fresh air, why don't we go outside?"

Verne followed her outside. Everything was shiny and wet from last night's storm. The sunlight shined on the grass, giving it almost a heavenly glow. The town was already buzzing with activity as the two strolled down the sidewalk. People were chatting, and overall enjoying the beautiful morning.

Verne noted how different it was than 1991. In that time people seemed to busy to talk to each other. They all had their own things to do, and were all in a hurry.

"Oh, kid!" Trixie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "We need to stop by my place so I can get changed, all right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah mom that's fine!"

She lead him to a rather shabby looking apartment building. The elevator was shaky the whole way to the second floor, and Verne held onto the bar tightly.

Finally it opened it's rickety doors and the two exited into Trixie's apartment. Unlike the rest of the building, this room was very clean and organized. Trixie was trying to live the best life she could here.

'You sit down for a minute while I get changed.' Trixie said, gesturing to a small, two cushioned, worn out, red coach. Verne hopped onto the coach and shuffled until he found a comfortable position to sit.

While his mom was changing, Verne looked around. On the wall young a painting of a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes next to a man with short brown hair and glasses. He guessed these were his grandparents. That or Trixie wore colored contacts. On the coffee table in front of him there were sheets of paper, some crinkled and torn, some smooth and flat.

Out of curiosity and boredom he picked one of them up. _Is this a song?/_ " 'Kiss my red, red lips my love' ? Ew, gross!"

As he set it down, Trixie came out in a simple blue dress. "I just realized,kid,I need to get you a place to sleep."

"You're not going to make me sleep on the couch, are ya?" Verne asked nervously.

"Of course not! I'll get something ready for you tonight. So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Verne said excitedly, hopping to his feet. Then his tone became slightly confused. "Where are we going?"

"We need to get you some clothes."

"Why?"

Trixie giggled "You can't wear the same clothes every day, kid."

 _I can't?_

Trixie went over to a small jar ,took out some money, and placed it in her purse.

The two of them headed down the street. They passed a hot dog cart, and having not eaten since lunch yesterday (In 1991), Verne's stomach growled. "Mom!"

Trixie stopped and turned her head towards him. "Yeah?"

"I'm starving! Can I get a hot dog? Pleeease?"

"Oh, all right, kid." Trixie said, walking over. "I don't know when you last ate anyway."

She bought two hot dogs and they headed off again. Verne ate his pretty fast, getting ketchup and mustard on his face.

"Kid." Trixie giggled, kneeling to his level. With her thumb she wiped the condiments off his face.

"Heh. Sorry mom."

Trixie just smiled and they went off again.

They entered a small clothing store. Verne looked around and cringed a bit. _She's not really gonna make me wear stuff like_ _ **that**_ _, is she?_

Most of these outfits were like full suits or something similar. Some had ties, and some had three layers. Whatever anything looked like, it wasn't Verne's style.

Trixie picked out two outfits for him. One of them was a three piecer with a jacket and tie, much to Verne's dismay. The second outfit was all right. It was a simple red zig zag like design on a white shirt.

"Mooom..." Verne whined. "These clothes are embarrassing!

"I think you'll look adorable in these, kid." Trixie reassured.

"I'm gonna look like a dork!" Verne complained.

"Dork?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah, a dork! Besides, I like my clothes." He said.

Trixie bit her lip. "I'll tell you what, kid. We'll stop by the laundromat later so you can wear that tomorrow. All right?"

Verne sighed in defeat. "Okay, mom..."

Trixie bought the two outfits and took him back to the apartment. Verne chose to wear the zig zag shirt since out of the two choices it was the least tacky to him. Despite that, he was still pretty embarrassed about it.

"I was right, you are adorable in it, kid."

"Yeah...Thanks mom." Verne said sarcastically.

The next stop was the laundromat. They'd brought a few of Trixie's clothes to be washed as well.

As she got the machine ready, Verne wandered around, bored. _How did these people have fun without video games?_ He spotted the boxes of powdered soap on each machine and got an idea. He grabbed as many boxes as he could and started stacking them, forming a small town. He towered over it and laughed evilly. "Face the wrath of Vernezilla! Roooooar! Rooooar!" He kicked down the boxes, scattering them all over the floor. Some were dented, and some spilled everywhere. "Roooar! Fear me, Hill Valley!"

Everyone looked over at Verne who was now tearing a box in two while letting out a fake roar. A balding man with light black hair, a comb shaped mustache, and thin wiry glasses over his dark blues eyes came over,grabbed Verne by the arm, and hoisted him into the air. "Whose child is this!?"

Trixie looked over and when she saw the owner, she panicked. She hurried over.

"Is this your kid?" The owner said, a scowl on his face.

"...I'm looking after him."

"Well, you better keep him under control!" He snapped, shoving Verne towards her.

"S-sorry mom."

She sighed. "It's all right,kid, but please don't do that again. The next laundromat is five miles away."

Verne felt guilty. "Sorry, I was just bored."

"We'll do something fun after, okay kid?"

"All right." Verne sighed. He followed her back to the machine and watched her put the clothes and soap in before starting the wash. "Are we going now?"

"Not yet, kid. I don't leave my laundry alone in here anymore."

"Why not?" Verne demanded.

"Last time I did, someone took my clothes out and put theirs in." Trixie explained.

"Did you wait for them to come back and glock them in the face!?" Verne asked, throwing a fake punch.

Trixie let out a small chuckle. "I'm not much of a fighter, kid. I just went to another machine and waited."

"Oh." Verne said flatly. They stayed silent then, and the boredom fully took over Verne. He grabbed one of the soap boxes and started reading it. "Cla...Cla...Claw...Clari.."

Trixie looked over at the box. "Clarity Soap."

"Oh." Verne said, putting it down on the washer. "I don't like reading, it's hard."

"You can't read?"

"I can read! It's just big words and stuff I don't understand!"

"I could help you, kid." Trixie said.

"I didn't come here to learn to read, I came here to be with you!"

"Aw come on. I have to teach you things, anyway. It'd be risky if we put you in school. They could find out you have connections to Kid Tannen, and...Well, it wouldn't end well, kid."

Verne grumbled. _Great! I finally found my mom and she just wants to teach me stuff!_

"I'll just teach you stuff when I can, kid." Trixie said, picking up the box. "Here, lets keep reading."

Verne grumpily looked at the box. "A Patr..pattri...pat..pati..."

"Patriotic."

"Patriotic." Verne said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Product of The United States."

"Good job,kid!"

Verne looked at the ingredients on the back and his eyes widened.

"Maybe we can skip those ones." Trixie said,putting it back.

Verne didn't want to learn anymore so he quickly asked, "What are you thinking about naming your kid?"

"For a girl I kind of like Myrtle. For a boy I like James."

 _James Tannen. James Tannen. James Tannen._ Verne let the name sink in. This was his name. His real name. James Tannen.

"Uh kid? You're spacing out again."

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "I do that a lot."

"It's fine, I was just worried about ya." Trixie said.

"So, uh, are you going to put your kid in school?"

"I can't." She said. "That'd be more risky than sending you to school."

"Oh. Um...If someone tried to take your kid, what would you do?"

"I'd never let anyone take my baby!" Trixie said defensively. "If they tried, I'd...what did you say a minute ago?...Glock 'em!"

"Nice, mom!" Verne said. The washer stopped it's shaking as the wash finished.

She unloaded the washer and handed half of the load to Verne. He stumbled a bit, trying to regain his footing.

The went to the dryer, put the clothes in and started it. "Can we go now?"

"Not yet,kid."

"What,have people taken your clothes out of the dryer too!?" Verne couldn't tell if he was upset they weren't leaving or if it was because he was mad at the person who did it in the first place.

"No, but I don't want to risk it." She pointed to the words on the dryer. "Can you read that,kid?"

"Per..Per..."

"Perfectly."

"Perfectly Perfect Dryer..Ink..Ink.."

"Incorporated."

"Incorporated."

"Well done, kid!" Trixie said stroking his hair.

Verne laughed,temporarily making him forget his embarrassment. When he did remember he quickly changed the subject, "Mom,why don't you just get your own washing machine."

Trixie laughed. "You're funny,kid."

Verne furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? We had a washing machine where I used to live."

Trixie's eyes widened. "Wow kid, you must be from a wealthy family."

"Not really." He said, shrugging it off.

"Well,that sounds pricey, kid."

 _Uh oh. I need to be more careful_."Well..uh...we knew someone and got it cheap."

"I see." Trixie said. She looked back at dryer.

Verne was getting bored again, so he started walking around the laundromat,dragging his hand against the dryers. Most of them were off, but Verne liked touching the ones what were on because of the vibrations.  
Eventually Verne circled the whole place and ended up back next to his mom,who was fixing her hair.

"Is it done yet?" Verne whined.

"Not yet, kid, be patient." She said gently. "I just don't anyone stealing my load."

Verne sighed in boredom and sat down, holding his knees to his chest. _I could be beating my high score at BraveLord and Monstrux right now, but I'm stuck in a laundromat...in the 30s..._

He'd practically dozed off by the time the dryer buzzed,which jolted him awake.

"Have a nice nap?" Trixie teased playfully.

"These things are loud!" Verne complained.

As Trixie took the clothes out, Verne grabbed his usual outfit right away. "Mom, please can I wear it today? I hate these dorky 30s clothes!"

She sighed a bit. "All right, but you can't wear it tomorrow."

Verne grumbled. It was a sacrifice he was going to have to make. The two of them went back to Trixie's house so he could change.

While Trixie was in the other room he sat there on the couch. _There isn't even TV here! Is there anything fun at all in the 30s!?_

A few minutes later his mom came back in. "I've been buying things for the baby, and well...I thought we could use this now, kid." She sat next to him then pulled out a book and handed it over.

"Dick and Jane?" Verne read in disappointment.

"Good job, kid." Trixie complimented. She reached over,opened the cover and started reading it to him,"Dick. See Dick. See Dick run."

Verne yawned. Slowly his eyes fluttered shut.

"Jane. See Jane. See Jane ru-" Trixie stopped when she'd seen he'd fallen asleep. She smiled as she picked him up and placed him in her bed. Gently she placed the covers over him. Verne snuggled deeply into the blankets.

...

"Verne?"

"Mom?" Verne asked groggily.

"You've been sleeping all day." She replied,stroking his forehead.

"I had a weird dream I was adopted and I went back in time to find my real mom."

"Well, you're still in 1930, kid."

"1930!" Verne sat up quickly. He looked over and saw Trixie looking at him, a bit worried. He relaxed when he saw her and hugged tightly. "Oh, mom!"

"Are you okay now, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Verne replied, snuggling into her chest.

"I have to go to the speakeasy to sing. Wanna come?"

"Yeah!" He said, smiling and tightening his grip on her.

Trixie ruffled his hair before gently prying him off.

When they got outside, Trixie grabbed Verne's hand tightly and sneaked around. Sometimes she'd stop and look around cautiously before continuing. Even when they got to the speakeasy, Trixie still seemed a bit tense.

She sat in front of a mirror, fluffing her hair and applying makeup. When she was done she grabbed Verne's hand again and lead him backstage.

"I'll be right back." She whispered.

While waiting for his mom to return, Verne looked out into the speakeasy: People were laughing,clinking glasses together,shooting pool, playing poker, and all kinds of things out there. It made Verne feel a little bit intimidated, seeing all those illegal boozers out there. He froze on one in particular though.

Trixie came back with a bowl of green olives and a cup of cranberry juice, usually used to mix with drinks.

"I know it's not the best dinner, kid, but it's all I can do right now." Trixie said.

"Mom?" Verne asked worriedly. "Is..Is that cop gonna arrest you?"

Trixie looked puzzled for a moment before looking into the abyss of people. She chuckled a bit before putting her hand on his shoulder. "No, Verne, it's fine. He's just here to drink too."

"But, I thought this place was illegal."

"It is. The law doesn't always follow the law,kid." She paused for a moment. "I have to go on stage now, you stay here, okay?"

"O-okay." Verne replied, a bit nervous. He watched as his mother went on stage and approached the microphone. Some of the boozers stopped talking to listen as she began to sing. Verne stopped mid olive-to-mouth when he heard her voice. It was so velvety and smooth. Her music was the best thing he'd ever heard.

 _My mom is awesome!_

Verne couldn't help but hum along. The humming lead to singing under his breath, to singing a little louder, to singing as loud as Trixie, to singing louder than her.

The speakeasy went silent.

Verne had made a huge mistake.

He felt shivers run through his body as the curtain pulled back. He got ready to run if he was in danger, which he figured it would be.

"Verne?"

"Mom." He sighed in relief. 

"Were you singing?"

"Y-yeah…" Verne said, nervously.

Trixie knelt in front of him. "You have an amazing voice!"

He relaxed. "T-thanks mom."

Trixie thought for a moment. "I'm serious,kid...Verne, you're good! Do you….want to come on stage with me?"

Verne's eyes lit up. "Heck yeah!"

She grabbed his hand and took him on stage. The eyes were now all on the kid, and he froze. Trixie noticed and frowned. Gently she whispered, "Follow my lead like you were doing backstage,kid."

Verne nodded and waited for her to start. When she did it still took him a second before he joined in. Their voices melted together wonderfully.

The crowd loved it and broke into loud applause and cheers when it was over. Trixie smiled down at him. "Great job,kid!"

"You're way cool, mom!"

"The speakeasy ain't that warm." She giggled. She grabbed behind his shoulder and escorted him outside.

"Trixie!"

The two looked over and saw Kid Tannen standing there, a scowl on his face. "You told me he'd stay out of the way!"

In fear, Verne hid behind Trixie and let out small sounds akin to that of a whimper.

"Kid! H-he's just a child!" Trixie tried to reason sacredly. She felt Verne hug the back of her legs. "P-please don't hurt him K-Kid."

"He didn't stay out of the way!" Kid yelled.

Trixie panicked. "K-kid the c-crowd loved him though….d-didn't you hear them c-clapping?"

Kid focused his gaze on Verne, who gulped and hid behind his mom even more. He exhaled harshly. "I guess you have a point, tutz. They haven't clapped this loudly for you in years." He bit his lip. "You...you wanna perform every night, kid?"

"S-sure." Verne squeaked out.

"All right. Now that, that's settled get out of here." He said, although there was a hint of humor in his voice.

 _He's pretty nice for a Tannen. Maybe he won't be such a bad dad after all._

He grabbed Trixie's hand and sneaked back to her apartment with her.

"I'll get your bed set up quick." Trixie yawned, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands.

"Um...mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Can...Can I sleep with you?" Verne asked. He longed to be close to his mother.

She smiled at his cuteness. "If that's what you want, kid." She scooped him up in her arms and carried him to bed. Once under the covers, Verne snuggled close and fell asleep right away.

In her arms he felt safe, He felt happy. He felt like he belonged.


	4. Isnt Someone Missing Me

Includes more dialogue from Go Fly a Kite. Sorry for the long wait.

Doc, Clara,Einstein, and Jules nervously paced around their kitchen.

"Does every family have a kid that's always running away from home?" Doc asked.

"Yes, but most of them stay in the 20th century." Clara replied.

Jules stopped and faced his parents. "Mother, father, perhaps I could shed some light on Verne's disappearance." Doc and Clara looked at him expectantly, but before he could finish, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

Jules opened the door, and there stood Marty, looking very worried. "Jules! I came here as soon as Doc called!"

"Hello Martin." Jules greeted, voice also full of worry. "Father is in the kitchen, come on."

Doc looked up from his pacing. "Marty! Thank you for coming on such short notice!"

"No problem, Doc. I'm sure The Pinheads will understand why I missed practice tonight." Marty replied. Doc sighed sadly. Marty frowned and put his hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry, we'll find him. Where have you looked so far? The arcade? The mall?"

"I'm afraid looking there wouldn't help, Marty." Doc said, slowly shaking his head. "He took off in The Delorean."

Marty's eyes widened. "Whoa, what?! How are we gonna find him?"

"I don't know.." Doc said, placing his face into his palm.

"Well...Do you think you know why he ran away?"

Doc froze and bit his lip, taking a moment to respond. "Yes...I suppose I do have one theory on why he ran away." He walked to the corner of the kitchen to avoid eye contact.

"What?"

"...I suppose he was upset when he found out he was adopted."

"Wait what!? Verne's adopted?!"

Doc slowly turned to face him. "Yes Marty...Actually he's your uncle.."

Marty didn't think his eyes could get any wider. "Doc...what are you…?" He trailed off, unsure exactly what to ask.

"Your grandmother, Sylvia had a child with Kid Tannen, and...and that child was Verne."

The young adult could barely catch his breathe. How could this be possible!? "Why didn't you tell m-...anyone?"

"Clara and I decided that it would be best if he didn't know he was related to such a cruel person…"

"How...how'd he even find out he was adopted?" Marty asked.

"Uh...I may have been the source of Verne's apprehension.." Jules admitted meekly.

"Jules Eratosthenes Brown! I'm ashamed of you!" Clara scolded.

"Now your brother is lost somewhere in time with no way for us to find him!" Doc added, just as angry.

"I-I'm sorry father." Jules squeaked out. "I-I only meant it as harmless juvenile teasing. I didn't know he truly was adopted, I swear, father."

"That's not the point." Doc snapped. "The point is he's missing now and we need to find him."

Doc, Marty,Einstein,Clara, and Jules headed to the train in a hurry. "We'll try a few dates in 1930 and see if we can find him there first."

The train accelerated to 88 and traveled back to 1930. Doc took out the disguise camera and used it on them. Marty and Doc's clothes were the same from the last time they were there when they tried to break Doc out of jail. Luckily this was a year before the Carl Sagan incident so Doc could still use it as a disguise. Clara's dress was basically the same, except a bit shorter. Jules had one of those three piece outfits, complete with a tie.

"So what's the plan,Doc? We go to the speakeasy and grab Verne?"

"Marty, I'm not even positive he found your grandmother. Even if he did...it would be rather difficult to find the speakeasy."

"You know where it is, don't you?"

"I'm not the one who set it on fire, I was merely blamed for it."

"Can't we ask Edna?"

"Oh no, Marty, there are several reasons we cannot do that. For one, she may not know where the speakeasy is at this point in time. More importantly though, is that meeting Sonny Crockett and Carl Sagan before 1931 could cause a major time paradox! The events won't play out the way they're supposed to. Our only hope is to find Verne out in the open." He turned to Einstein. "Can you get his scent at all?"

Einstein started sniffing around Hill Valley. After sniffing around a while, he let out a small whimper. Doc pet his head. "Aw, don't worry Einie, maybe he didn't go out on this day. We'll try some more days."

However, after trying fifteen different days in 1930, the odds of him being there didn't seem too high. "Perhaps he didn't come here to seek his birth mother out after all." He punched in another date. "We'll try a date we've been to before incase he returned there. We just need to be careful not to run into our past selves."

…...

"The Yankees won't shoot at us will they?" Verne asked, anxiously.

"Usually aim right fir ya'." His new friend Jimmy replied.

"But we're just kids!"

"War makes ya grow up fast..."

Verne gulped and ran over to the case containing The Delorean, starting to pull on it. "Come on, open up!" He frowned and knelt beside the case sadly.

The Time Train pulled up,startling Verne. However his emotions quickly changed to relief and happiness as he ran towards the train. "Dad!"

Everyone emerged from the train and circled around Verne. Doc pulled him into a tight hug and Verne started crying. Doc stroked his back and tried to soothe him. "Shh it's okay son...It's okay."

"I-I'm sorry I ran a-away d-dad." Verne sniffled.

"It's all right, it's all right." Doc comforted. "I understand why you did it. It's my fault..."

"So you won't treat me like a baby anymore?"

Doc got a far off look and loosened his grip.

"Dad?"

"...Is that why you ran away?"

"Yeah?" Verne sounded confused.

"Jumpin' Gigawatts! You're not the right Verne!"

"W-what?" Verne furrowed his brows.

Doc didn't pull away as he explained, "I'm not your father...I-I mean in the sense that I'm from the future. I'm looking for my Vernie."

"O-oh." Verne whimpered. "C-can you s-still take me with you?"

Doc would be lying if he said that thought didn't cross his mind. He'd thought of just scooping up this Verne and taking him home with him. It would be a fresh start: This Verne would feel safe, he'd never have to learn he's adopted, and they could all stop worrying...

Doc tightened his grip. "Vernie...I can't..."

"Why not?" He whined more into Doc, terrified.

"You're n-not mine.." Doc said. "P-past me needs to f-find you, and I...I have to find my Verne...besides taking you would cause a paradox as my past self would not be able to find you and I'd have no reason to leave without you."'

"B-but I'm so s-scared.." He sobbed.

Doc hesitated. _No one should know too much about their own future_ rushed through his head. He looked down at the child,sobbing into him, shaking heavily.

"You'll...you'll be just fine..." Doc reassured, stroking his hair. He leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I love you Vernie."

"I-I love you too d-dad." He sniffled. It took a few moments before Doc could force himself to pull away and head back to The DeLorean with the others.

"Emmett..." Clara said gently, squeezing his arm in comfort. He started tearing up again.

"I-I'm f-fine C-Clara...We...we need to keep looking." Doc choked out, entering a new date into the train. He couldn't bring himself to try another date they'd been to before. He didn't want this to happen again.

"When are we father?" Jules asked.

"August 15th 1982, the worst heatwave in the history of Hill Valley." Doc explained, sounding a bit worn out.

Marty groaned. "Oh God I remember this day! Doc I really don't think Verne's going to be here, can we please leave?"

"We don't know that for sure Marty." Doc said. "That's why we're checking here."

Marty frowned at his friend's tone and nodded slightly, not wanting to make things worse.

"Perhaps we could split up and cover more ground." Jules suggested. "Besides it will wave away any possible suspicions that could be raised if people saw us together."

"Brilliant idea offspring!" Doc said. "As far as I remember I didn't leave my lab this day. I was trying to create a super fan to beat the heat.

"Did it work?" Marty asked.

"Besides the exploding, the small fire, and setting off my carbon monoxide detector...no'

"Perfect, then you won't run into yourself father." Jules said.

They split up into groups, Doc was with Einstein, Clara with Jules, and Marty on his own.

Einstein sniffed the air.

"Anything Einie?" Doc asked.

Einstein shook his head and tried again. Doc frowned and sighed a bit.

After a while, Einstein started panting. His heavy coat sure wasn't helping with the blazing sun.

"Come on, let's take a rest." The two of them sat under a large tree to cool off. Doc scanned the passerbys, hoping to catch sight of Verne, but alas it was hopeless.

"I wonder if anyone is having any luck…."

….

Jules couldn't help but notice the differences between this time and modern day Hill Valley. "Mother, it seems that at one point the Fitness Center was once a cafe. Fascinating!"

"Jules, we don't have time for sightseeing!" Clara said in exasperation.

Jules frowned. "My apologizes mother." He paused for a moment. "Perhaps we could check in there. Verne isn't very good with the heat and if he came here, he'd probably seek shelter in an air conditioned area."

"Good idea." They entered the cafe, which was pretty much at it's full capacity. Despite this, Clara scanned the crowd a few good dozen times. "Darn, he's not here! Come on, let's go!"

"Mother, before we go, may we get an artificially sweetened carbonated beverage?"

Clara sighed. "I guess so."

They approached the counter and Jules cleared his throat, "May I have a carbonated water with High Fructose Corn Syrup,caramel color,sugar,phosphoric acid,caffeine,citric acid, and natural flavors?"

"Uh..?"

"...Pepsi?" Jules tried, He paid for his drink and managed to find a place to sit with his mom.

Clara sighed and rested her head in her hands.

"Don't fret mother, we'll find him."

"I sure hope so…"

…..

Marty tied his jacket to his waist. He'd been holding it on his arm, but it made him sweat a lot worse in that area.

He spotted the Burger King, and his mouth watered at the thought of a nice, cold, diet soda. _Who knows, maybe Verne's in there…..Wow it's actually a lot hotter than I remember…._

Marty slowed down as he felt his head start to hurt. He also felt really warm, and nauseated. _Maybe I need to sit down…._

That was the last thing Marty remembered before everything went black.

…

Marty woke up to aggressive licking, laughing at how it felt. As he opened his eyes things were a bit blurry, but he could make out the shape of a dog sitting in front of him. "H-hey there." He gently patted the dog's head.

The dog let out a friendly bark, before running into the next room. As soon as his vision became clear, Marty took in his surroundings. His jacket was beside the couch, covered in sweat, he had a wet washcloth on his forehead, and an ice pack on his neck, stomach, and legs. There was a fan on the highest power blowing in his direction. On the table was a cup and a pitcher of water with a few ice cubes bobbing up and down.

Marty still felt exhausted and closed his eyes, until he heard a gentle voice ask, "Are you all right?"

"D-Doc?" Marty asked, opening his eyes lightly.

"Marty?" He asked in surprise. He knelt beside him. "I-is it really you?"

"What do you mean is it really me?" Marty groaned in confusion.

"I mean why are you here?"

"You're the one who brought me here."

"No Marty, why are you in this year?"

"You know why we're here Doc!"

Doc sighed and tried to clear things up. "We haven't met yet."

'What are you talking abou-...Oh!" Marty said in sudden realization, sitting up abruptly.

Doc panicked and gently grabbed his shoulders."Easy Marty, you have heatstroke. You need to rest and cool down for a while. We'll discuss this when you're more aware."

"All right Doc." Marty mumbled, already half asleep again. Doc grabbed the glass and gently placed it to Marty's lips, making him drink the whole thing. He then poured another glass and did the same thing. He removed the cloth from Marty's head and left the room as Marty started to drift off again.

….

When Marty came to again, he felt much better.

"So, why are you here?" Doc asked again.

"We're looking for someone." Marty kept it simple,knowing Doc wouldn't wanna know about things specific to his future. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, raccoon cap, he's hard to miss. Have you seen him?"

"No." Doc replied. "I'm sorry Marty."

"Oh." Marty sighed. "Well if you do, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Write a note with the date and location, and then...you know that old abandoned farm house?"

"Yes. It was Old Man Peabody's new land after they bought out his old land for the mall...Now it's just in a sad state."

"The second wooden step has a crack in it, so stick the note in there, got it?"

"Got it, but why such an odd location?" Doc asked.

"You...You'll find out Doc, trust me."

Doc nodded once in understanding, and when he felt Marty was well enough, he sent him off.

…

The five met up outside of Lou's Cafe.

"We should probably head home." Doc sighed. "We can look more tomorrow."

When they got back to Doc's house in 1991, Marty went to the steps. He had a feeling nothing would be there and that asking past Doc for help was useless. However to his surprise there was a yellowed piece of paper, Doc saw it too and grabbed it before Marty it.

He read it quickly, and teared up. He started sobbing and dropped the note as he ran inside.

"Emmett!" Clara said worriedly, following him.

"Father!" Jules said.

Marty frowned fearing the worse. He gulped and it picked it up.

 **Dear Marty,**

 **I have found the boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a raccoon cap. He's my beautiful, perfect baby boy, Verne. Along with Jules and Clara, he is the most important person in my life. I'll do whatever I can to prevent my little angel from going missing. Thank you for the warning.**

 **Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown**


	5. Not enough rain in Hill Valley

Trixie and Verne were taking a walk, enjoying the nice warm weather. Verne still hadn't, and probably never would get over the lack of video games, but for now atleast he was having fun. He was still hoping to find a group of kids to play baseball with, or a dance studio to join.

In the meantime he could pretend. Sure it was only fun for a few minutes or so, but what else could he do? So for a moment he imagined the path in front of him was a straight line towards home plate, and it was his final run. He bent onto his knees readying himself as he imagined the pitcher throwing to the batter. The batter hit the ball, and Verne bolt toward, the plate in sight.

That is until he bumped into someone and sent papers flying everywhere.

"Hey! Be more cautious you ruffian!" He froze when he saw Verne looking nervous. The young man had brown hair, and dark brown eyes, and was wearing a bluish-green sweater vest. "M-my apologies,I-I didn't know you were a child."

Verne got up and brushed himself off. "I don't care, you still called me a ruffian! I'm not a ruffian!"

"I'm sorry." The young man apologized again as he got up and started gathering his papers.

Verne helped pick them up and looked at one "What is this junk anyway?"

"Legal documents." He said, taking the paper gently from him.

"Sounds boring." Verne said.

"Actually law is very interesting. There are various laws, and ordinances to read and study." He said, however it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of this as well.

"Verne! Verne!" Trixie panted as she caught up with him "Verne, I can't keep up with ya sometimes, slow down huh." She teased. She looked up at the young man. "Oh, you're the judge's son ain't ya? Emmett Brown?"

Verne felt cold when he heard that name. He stood in front of Trixie as if he was protecting her.

"Yes I am." He said. He noticed Verne and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Stay away from my mom!" He snarled.

Emmett just frowned more,but then froze. "Wait….mom?"

"Yeah! Stay away from my mom!" He repeated.

Trixie crouched down and gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Verne, sweetie, calm down."

"Are you actually his mother?" Emmett asked awkwardly.

"Well uh…" Trixie started, as she straightened herself up. "I've been taking care of him for a while, so...I suppose I am."

Emmett sighed and shook his head. "Miss Trotter, you can't just keep a child you found. There are laws against this. He is a ward of the state as far as the law's concerned."

Verne got angrier. "Well….are there laws against kidnapping huh!?"

Emmett was startled. "Of course there is!"

"Have _you_ ever thought of doing it?" Verne challenged.

"What?! Of course not!" He said, shocked anymore would assume this.

"Oh yeah, you sure!?"

"Verne stop!" Trixie said. Verne frowned and backed down.

Emmett felt uncomfortable and tried to sneak away while Trixie scolded Verne. Verne however noticed Emmett leaving and yelled after him, "You better stay in law, and not try anything stupid like science!"

Emmett felt tears well in his eyes, and ran off.

"Verne!" Trixie yelled, grabbing his arm and nearly dragging him. "You oughta be ashamed of yourself! You can't talk to people like that!"

"But he's not a good guy!" Verne protested.

"Verne, I know the law is against us, but Kid told me Emmett won't cause no harm."

"Riiight…" Verne said, remembering the story Marty had told him about his misadventures in 1931.

Trixie sighed in annoyance. "Come on, let's just get to the speakeasy and get ready."

…

"You were great out there Verne!" Trixie said, putting her arm around him.

"Thanks mom, you too." Verne said, smiling widely.

Trixie yawned. "Come on Verne let's head home."

"All right mom." Verne yawned too.

When the two of them headed back to the apartment and got into bed, Verne snuggled close to Trixie.

"Hey mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't we live with Kid?"

Trixie bit her lip. "Well I uh..it's...it's just...you know, grown up stuff, it can be kinda complicated sometimes."

Verne blinked. "How is that complicated? Why don't we live with him?"

"Listen, let's not talk about this now, okay? I just wanna get some sleep." Trixie yawned. "We need rest for tomorrow's show."

Verne frowned, unhappy by the response but he yawned and fell asleep faster than she did.


	6. Jules and Marty's Excellent Adventure

Doc, Clara, and Einstein scanned anything they could get their hands-or paws- on. Doc scanned through pages of history books, looking for anything that could be Verne. Clara went through her teaching notes just in case they had changed due to ripple effect. Einstein sniffed various thrift shop bought objects and antiques, hoping to get his scent off something.

Marty knocked on the door, and Doc answered. He was holding a large cardboard box. "I got all the old photos I could find."

"Thank you Marty. Can you start looking through them?"

"Sure." Marty sat down and looked at the pictures one by one. Everytime he saw a child that even looked slightly like Verne, he'd stare at it for a long time. When he finally accepted it wasn't him, he sighed and put the photo into a pile. Marty's eyes got sore from looking at so many pictures, so he allowed his eyes a break and scanned the room. He noticed something was missing. "Hey Doc, where's Jules?"

Doc looked up from his book and said, "He's in his room. He's understandably been pretty upset recently. He doesn't want to come down. Clara and I went to the future yesterday to search, but he didn't want to come."

"You want me to talk to him?" Marty asked.

"You could try...but it may be futile."

Marty went to Jules' room and knocked on the door.

"Go elsewhere, I am busy."

"Jules, come on. Staying in there can't be good for you."

There was silence for a moment before the door knob twitched slightly as it was unlocked and the door swung open. To Marty's surprise their was a small smile on Jules' face, which looked odd paired with red, tear swollen eyes, outlined with dark circles. "Greeting Martin. I have been waiting for you."

"You have?"

"Yes." Jules lead him into his room, and grabbed a piece of paper. "I have been compiling a list of important events in Verne's life, and I would like you to accompany me on a time travel mission to check them."

"Sure, but er, why didn't you just ask your folks?"

Jules sighed. "Martin, they're too focused in what they think are good ideas to listen to me. I cannot get in a word edgewise without their worry."

"I get it." Marty said reassuringly, putting his hand on Jules' shoulder in comfort. "Come on, let's go."

The two of them got into The Delorean and accelerated to 88.

The first date was the day Verne got his racoon cap.

"How'd you even remember the date for this?" Marty asked.

"I have a sharp memory." Jules said. "My special interest for my Autism is history and remembering dates. This is no doubt history." He took this disguise camera out of the Delorean and pointed it towards Marty. "My attire is appropriate for this decade, however with your 90s garb you will stick out like an inflamed stubby digit."

"You're just like your dad." Marty teased.

"Thank you!" Jules sounded very touched, as he used the camera on Marty, putting him into the clothes he was in the first time he came here. "Now follow me, Martin,I still recall where our house is. Actually where it is located is the residence father was living in, before we moved to the farmhouse."

"Wait, so you live behind the Burger King here?"

"Technically, yes. The actual fast food establishment will not be constructed until 1977."

"I got that." Marty said.

"We must be careful. If father saw me, I could pass for another child, but if he sees you, he will recognize you, no doubt." They sneaked around the back, but they stopped by the side window.

Gathered in the living room was Doc, Clara, a six year old Jules, and a four year old Verne. Jules was reading _Moby Dick,_ which didn't surprise Marty in the least.

Verne was playing with wooden blocks. He stacked them up and then proceeded to knock them down. He laughed and set them back up.

"You're destructive sibling." Six year old Jules said, scrunching his nose in disgust.

Verne stuck out his tongue and raspberried him.

Marty jumped suddenly when he felt a tight grip on his arm. He turned and saw Jules, shaking with tears streaking down his cheeks.

Marty pulled him out of the way of the window so they wouldn't get caught, and squeezed him tightly.

"Shh it's okay." Marty comforted as he cried a bit too. He stood up from his crouch, holding Jules tightly to his chest, letting him sob into his chest. Gently Marty patted and stroked his back, "It's okay…I miss him too."

Marty full on cried at this point, and Jules wiped his eyes dry for him with his sleeve. He then sat down and for about an hour they stayed there, comforting each other.

"I think we should advance our pursuit of seeking out Verne."

"R-right." Marty said, drying his eyes. He staggered up and snuck around the back of the house with Jules.

"We're checking here?" Marty asked, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Yes. Often when Verne was melancholy he took refuge in the attic. I may however require a boost to penetrate the garrett, Martin."

"What do you mean by penetrate?….Never mind. Lets just get you inside."

Marty gently lifted him through the window and followed after. Jules gripped Marty's arm tightly to comfort himself.

"Verne...Verne…" Jules whispered.

"Hey Verne!" Marty yelled.

"Shh! The nadir and walls are not soundproof." Jules said. Marty nodded and the two looked around the attic more. They searched every corner with no luck.

As they were about to leave they heard Doc's voice beneath the floor. "Vernie, I got something for you."

The two froze and got sight of the scene through a hole in the floorboards.

Doc knelt in front of Verne and pulled something out from behind his back. It was a faux fur raccoon cap.

Verne's eyes widened and he grabbed for the cap. He put the tail in his mouth and chewed it. Doc smiled and chuckled lightly, but he pulled the tail out of his mouth gently and placed the hat on his head. Verne giggled then hugged Doc tightly.

Jules gripped Marty's arm tightly again and they made their way back towards the window.

"L-let us c-check by the Eastwood Ravine. When he was seven he often ambled by it, thinking of how glad he was it didn't end up named after mother….Father never kept any of it secret from us...any of it. He felt it crucial to not keep it furtive, so we did not make the sames mistakes as…." He looked at Marty for a second and paused. "As my father…"

"Right." Marty said, biting his lip slightly.

"Verne!" They both called out in vain.

Jules sighed. "Come on Martin let's try another time."

They went to the next date Jules had on his.

"So what happened here?" Marty asked.

"You'll see Martin.." The two of them sneaked carefully behind the Brown house. In the front of the house Doc,Clara,seven year old Jules, and five year old Verne were packing boxes into the Time Train. Well, Jules,Doc and Clara were, Verne was moping around.

Doc noticed and put his hand on his shoulder. "Vernie, it's all right. Since we are co-living in both time periods, I have set a schedule. We will spend one week in 1986 then come back here for a week, then back to 1986."

"I don't wanna go to stupid 1986 I wanna stay here!"

Doc frowned slightly. "It won't be so bad. In fact it's quite possible that you will prefer it to here."

"No!"

"Vernie-"

Verne pouted and stomped away. Doc sighed and Clara put her arm around him. "Emmett, it's okay. He's just nervous. 1986 is going to be new and scary for him for a while, but he'll get used to it."

"I sure hope so Clara…Are you and Jules uneasy about this as well?"

"A little bit...but you've talked so positively about the 80s and we trust that you're doing the best for all of us."

"I sure hope so…"

Verne started walking towards the side of the house Jules and Marty were. They hurried to hide behind the house, but before Jules could hide Verne found him. Jules stiffened in fear and panic.

"Jules?" Verne asked in a near whimper.

"Y-y-yes s-s-sibling?"

"I don't wanna go to 1986." He sniffled as he hugged Jules' legs.

Jules stiffened up, but he felt protective of Verne. He hugged him and patted his back. "I-it will b-be a-all right s-sibling…"

"I wanna stay here." He whined again as tears formed in his eyes. Jules knelt down and stroked his hair gently.

"S-sibling t-t-trust me.." Jules reassured, stroking his back."Fa-father s-said there are m-many marvelous things in the f-future. I-I think you will r-revel in. Y-you m-may like this one thing f-father mentioned called v-video games."

"Sounds dumb." Verne grumbled.

Jules couldn't help but chuckle when he said this. "J-just relax o-okay...I-I'm nervous too...I-I'm sure by the end of the w-week you'll be b-begging to stay in the 80s."

"O-okay J-jules." He squeezed his legs one more time and went back to his family.

When he was gone, Jules broke down sobbing. Marty came out of his hiding spot and picked him up. "M-martin...I-I do not w-wish to con-continue this r-right now….I wish to g-go home.."

"Shh it's okay Jules." Marty comforted as he cradled Jules close to his chest and stroked his back and hair. He let him cry it out, and cried himself. "W-we should h-head home.."

So Doc and Clara wouldn't be suspicious, they returned to the exact time they left. Marty took Jules to his room and held him.

The two of them fell asleep, snuggling each other close.


	7. I'm By Your Side

A few weeks had passed, Trixie and Verne were taking a walk together. Verne was starting to adjust to the 30s, expect for the lack of video games.

On their walk they saw Emmett Brown and his father Judge Brown.

Emmett looked annoyed and through the judge's rambling kept saying "Yes father." and "I know, father."

Despite his son's obvious disinterest he kept talking, until he saw Trixie and Verne. He stopped mid belittlement and approached them.

"Father?" Emmett asked,puzzled.

Verne felt nervous and hid behind Trixie's legs.

"Hello miss, Sylvia Miskin isn't it?" He asked.

"Y-yeah." The seriousness of his voice kind of unnerved Trixie.

"I've seen you around with that child quite often." He said, pointing directly at Verne, making him gulp.

"Y-yeah and?" Trixie asked uneasily.

"Well, I could brush it off in other circumstances, but it seems you've been spending _a lot_ of time together….Almost as if you were a parent to this child."

Trixie was so nervous at this point she couldn't form any coherent words. The Judge's stare just made it worse.

"Father?" Emmett said, tapping his shoulder.

"What?"

"That's her cousin."

"Is this true?" He asked Trixie.

"Y-yeah. He's staying in town with me for a while." Trixie lied a bit more confident now.

Judge Brown studied her face for a moment before hesitantly saying, "...All right then...Come along Emmett…"

"Yes father…" He started to follow, but he stopped near Trixie.

"T-thanks." Trixie said. "But why'd ya cover for me? It's not like you had to."

"Despite what the laws say about child care in Hill Valley, and The United States as well, I've seen you two around, and you seem perfectly capable of raising him."

"O-oh...thank you."

"Emmett!"

"Coming father! I'll see you two around."

Verne didn't know how to react. _He helped us!?_

Trixie noticed how tense he was and frowned. She gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Verne?"

He was startled. "Y-yeah mom?"

"You okay?"

He nodded. "C-can we go home?"

Trixie nodded and grabbed his hand gently. Not sure how to handle this, Verne decided to mentally list all the reasons he hated Emmett:

 _He stole me from my mom._

 _He didn't even tell me I was adopted._

 _He always liked Jules better._

 _He probably doesn't even care about me at all._

 _Kid Tannen's my real dad._

He kept mentally repeating the last one as if he were trying to make it clear to himself. Once they made it back to the apartment, Verne got into bed,squeezing the pillow tightly Trixie sat beside him and gently stroked his hair.

"I'll wake you up in a few hours,hon. Then we have to got to get ready for the show."

"Okay…" Verne grumbled into the pillow. He felt tears well in his eyes as he cried a bit into the pillow, unsure how to handle his feelings. As Trixie stroked lowered her stroking onto his back, Verne fell asleep.

….

 _Verne stared into a pool of cloudy, murky water, just barely making out his reflection in it. Curiously he touched it and felt a sharp pain, making him jerk away in pain._

 _The water bubbled as a tentacle emerged from the water, pulling him under. A giant octopus of pure black, grinned and pulled him even more under. The water filled his lungs as he coughed loudly. As the octopus squeezed tighter, Verne felt his eyes closing as he lost consciousness._

 _As the octopus cackled a roar of a big cat echoed through the water. Then the cat's claws slashed at the beast. It let out a roar of pain as black blood spilled throughout the water. The jaws of the mighty cat reached down and pulled him above the water._

 _Verne coughed as the water was dislodged from his throat. He hugged the big cat close and snuggled into it's chest._

…

Verne awoke to Trixie holding him close, stroking his back and hair like earlier. He was crying more than before he fell asleep.

"You okay hon?" Trixie asked.

"N-no..I had a bad dream…" Verne whined, snuggling closer to her chest.

"Shh it's okay." Trixie comforted. She frowned slightly. "Do you wanna stay home tonight?"

"N-no I want to stay with you." Verne whined, snuggling closer.

"All right hon. Let's go then." Trixie picked him up and carried him as they headed to the speakeasy. Verne snuggled close, feeling safe.


	8. I'm Meaner Than My Demons

There was a knock on the McFly household's door. Marty answered it and saw Jules standing there,stimming nervously with the straps on his clothes. "M-Martin?"

Marty frowned,worried. "Jules, what's wrong?"

"C-can I inquire a-about something?" He asked nervously, not looking him in the eyes.

"Of course." Marty said gently, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"You know h-how you said in the original timeline y-your mother was an...al-alcoholic?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I think my mother is going through the same sickness…"

Marty frowned and pulled Jules into a hug. He returned the hug and whined in Marty's chest. He gently stroked Jules' back in comfort. "What's going on with Clara, Jules?"

"She's been consuming an unreasonably large amount of alcohol, Martin, and I'm worried."

"Wh-what?"

Jules sniffled and nodded slightly. "It's true…"

Marty comforted Jules more, stroking his back gently. "I'm here for you."

"T-thank you M-martin…" Jules relaxed into the snuggle. "I'm just so w-worried about m-mother…"

"I'll check on her." Marty said gently. "You stay here, okay?"

Jules nodded and pulled back.

When Marty got to the Brown's house, he heard loud noises from Doc's workshop in the garage. Worried, he went to check it out. Doc was hunched over a machine, dirty, and grumbling to himself.

He slowly walked in and squeaked out, "Doc?"

Doc paused for a moment, before turning around and scowling. His was hair disheveled, and there were dark circles under both of his eyes. "Don't interrupt me, I'm busy!"

Startled, Marty backed out of the garage. He decided to check on how Clara was doing and went inside. A sound of howls, barks, and whimpers filled the air, startling Marty more. He went to the source of the sound and saw Einstein tied to a chair leg, struggling to get out of the leash's tight grip on his neck.

"Einy!" Marty hurried over, quickly untying it. Einstein licked his face gently as a thanks, but he whimpered from the bruise forming on his neck. "What happened?"

Einstein barked in reply and pointed his snout towards the other room. Marty went to where he pointed and saw Clara with a glass of alcohol in her hand. She looked about in the same shape as Doc did.

When she looked over she scowled. "How did you get off your lease you dumb mutt!?"

Einstein whimpered in reply and hid behind Marty's legs, shaking in fear.

"Clara?" Marty asked, surprised.

"What do you want?" She slurred angrily, taking another drink with her shaky hand. "Emmett is busy doing God knows what in the garage!"

Marty approached her carefully, still remembering what he did when his mom was this intoxicated. He helped her sit down and checked her over for signs of alcohol poisoning. Luckily she didn't exhibit any, and Marty got her some water.

"I don't want this!" Clara snarled,wrinkling her nose.

"It's vodka." Marty lied.

After hearing this Clara chugged the whole glass. Marty got her some more and sat by her. "Clara, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay!" She snapped. "I lost Verne!"

Marty frowned. "Please, this isn't going to help...it didn't help my mom…"

"Oooo so what should I do? Send Jules back in time and almost keep me and Emmett from meeting and somehow become rich and not insecure with myself because of it!? I'm sorry Oedipus, but that idea is off the table!"

"Oedipus? What, no?! Clara, that's not-"

"Suuuure it's not you filthy pervert!" She spat.

Marty sighed in annoyance. He decided that explaining to Clara he had no romantic or sexual interest in his mother whatsoever wasn't the priority right now. He got her some more water, and she seemed to calm down a bit.

"You feel better now?"

Clara nodded. "A bit yeah...I might relax a little bit…" She slumped down in the chair to a more comfortable position.

"All right I'll go get you some more wat-...vodka…" While backing out of the room Marty bumped into Doc.

Nervously Marty took a step back. Doc frowned and stepped towards him. "Marty...I'm sorry. I've just been so stressed lately. However that does not excuse me for yelling at my best friend."

"Thanks Doc." He hugged him. "I understand. This is a hard time for you, but I'll be here for you."

Doc smiled. "Thank you Marty. Let me show you what I've been working on."

Marty was about to follow but Einstein whined and tugged on the bottom of his pants. "What's wrong Einy?"

Einstein whined and looked up with sad, scared eyes.

"You wanna come with us?"

Einstein nodded and followed them to the garage. Doc wiped his hands off on his pants as he went over to a big, orange machine that let out constant beeps and chirps as several lights flashed. Out of the top paper rolled out like a printing calculator.

"What's this Doc?"

"This is the ELB Fanatical Youth Seeking Apparatus." Doc's voice lacked the usual enthusiasm for showing his inventions, but Marty could tell he was trying to muster up some enthusiasm for it. "Hopefully if this is successful we'll be able to track Verne's whereabouts!"

Marty smiled widely. "Hey, that's great Doc!" He went over to get a better look at the machine.

"EEEEEEEEMMMMMEEEETTTTT!"

Doc, Marty, and Einstein looked over to see Clara stumbling in with a glass of wine in her hand. She made her way towards Marty and drunkenly slurred, "Heeey, that vodka you gave me wasn't strong enough, so I got some heavier stuuuuff." She giggled, and her eyes widened when she saw what Doc had made.

"What the hell is this!?" Clara asked, suddenly turning angry and annoyed. She took a swig of the wine, then leaned over it, squinting her eyes. While leaning the wine from her glass splashed onto the machine, causing it to spark, fill up with smoke, and eventually break.

Doc was infuriated. "Damn it Clara! That could have been our chance to find Verne again!"

"He's not coming back!" Clara whined angrily. "He left and he's never coming back!"

Marty saw tears rolling down her cheeks and frowned. He didn't know what to do, so he left the room with Einstein. They sat on the couch, with Einy's head resting in Marty's lap.

Marty stroked Einstein's head gently as the two tried to ignore the loud yelling from the other room. However, both of them were prepared to intervene if it got violent.

Eventually things cooled down, and they both left the room. Clara went to her room, while Doc sighed and sat beside Einstein, petting him to calm himself. Einy sat up and licked Doc's cheek in comfort, whimpering slightly.

After a few moments Marty spoke. "Hey Doc?"

"Hm?"

"...Things right now don't seem that great for a kid, so um...Would it be okay if Jules spent the night at my place."

"I suppose that would be a good idea."

"Thanks Doc." Marty hugged him before going home.

….

When he arrived he saw his dad doting over Jules. George referred to Jules as his number one fan because he loved his books so much, and in this timeline Marty's family had actually gotten to know The Browns quite well. It wasn't unusual for them to visit each other or send Christmas cards. (Although at first Marty's family was worried it wouldn't be appropriate since all of the Browns were Atheists.)

"Hey Jules." Marty said gently.

"Greetings Martin. How did it go at my residence?"

Marty bit his lip. "Not so well…I talked to your dad, and you're going to spend the night here, okay?"

Jules looked less anxious when he said this. "Th-thank you."

…

That night Marty lead Jules to his room. Jules got into the bed first, followed by Marty who pulled

him into a hug afterwards. Jules snuggled close. Feeling relaxed for the first time in a long while he fell asleep.


	9. A New Perspective

Verne laid down and the couch and stared at the ceiling, bored. He sung under his breath, " _Sell the kids for food..Weather changes moods. Spring is here again...reproductive glands…"_

Trixie came in. "Oh, what are you singing?"

"Oh,uh it's just a song I like from where I come from." Verne said, sitting up.

"It sounds interesting...What's it about?"

Verne shrugged. "I dunno."

The phone rang and Trixie answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Emmett. Um, my dad isn't home and uh I was wondering if you and Verne want to come over?"

"Sure! We ain't busy today, so why not?"

"Great! I'll see you in a bit."

Verne looked up, curiously. "What are we doing?"

"We're going over to Emmett's."

Verne felt a knot form in his stomach. "W-why?"

"Because he invited us over. Do you not wanna go?"

"I-I don't know.." Verne said, taking off his hat and stimming by rubbing his hand against the fur. He squeezed the tail of it, and avoided eye contact. "I wanna stay with you."

Trixie sat beside him and stroked his hair in comfort. "Don't worry sweetie, it'll be fun."

Verne sighed and hugged her. "O-okay mom."

Trixie smiled gently and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. "Just get cleaned up a bit and we can go. Okay hun?"

"All right mom."

…..

They went to Emmett's house, Verne playing with the tail on his hat the whole way there. Trixie knocked on the door and heard someone yell, "Coming!"

A moment later Emmett opened the door and smiled widely at them both. "Hello, I'm glad you two could make it! Come in!"

Verne looked around the big mansion in awe. He wondered what this is what Doc meant when he said " _I was quite affluent in my adolescent years."_ Verne had always assumed it was just some kind of sickness or something. He tried not to act impressed, and even let out a fake little yawn as well.

Trixie was the exact opposite, as she looked at everything in wonder. "This is so neat Emmett!"

Emmett smiled as he lead them to a bookshelf. "This is my collection of Jules Verne books, I have nearly all of them. "Aren't they just wonderful?"

Verne looked at them boredly. "Meh. I like comic books better."

"This one is my favorite." Emmett pulled out _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ and nearly shoved it in Verne's face. "Maybe you'll like it if you give it a chance?"

"Nah." Verne said flatly. "I'll just wait a few decades for the movie."

Emmett let out a small chuckle. "And who do you suppose would have the honor of adapting this masterpiece to film?"

"Disney."

This was just met with another chuckle. "A rodent as Captain Nemo would be something."

Verne decided against correcting him in case doing so sounded clowny or fishy.

"Now, come with me." Emmett said, leading them to a different, more hidden room. "This is my true passion...science!"

Verne looked at a table and cringed when he saw a mold experiment. "So uh….this is what you like doing?"

"Yes, I love science! I just wish my dad would accept me doing it…."

"Why not?" Verne asked.

Emmett sighed. "He wants me to pursue law instead…"

Verne frowned, actually feeling bit sorry for him. He tried to shake it out of his thoughts, but failed.

 _Kid is my dad….Kid is my dad….Kid is my dad…._ Verne repeated in his mind over and over, trying to stop the feeling. It helped slightly, but not all the way. He saw Emmett's smile, his pure joy of science, and felt a small smile curl onto his own lips.


	10. An Unromantic Meeting

The next day Verne still couldn't grasp why he wasn't feeling as much hatred towards Emmett as before. He needed to clear his mind, to focus on his _real_ dad. When his mom wasn't busy he sat beside her and as innocently as he could asked, "Hey mom?"

Trixie looked over and smiled gently. "Yes sweetie?"

" Can you tell me how you met da-...Kid?"

Trixie blinked, surprised at his sudden interest in her boyfriend. "Well, our story ain't so The Docks of New York, but okay….I always wanted to be a singer, and well I wasn't gettin' too many job offers, until Kid heard me sing. He said I could sing for his 'special club'...problem is he didn't tell me it ain't a paid job…."

Verne frowned. He wasn't aware she didn't even get paid.

"Then we kinda started flirting and we became a thing." She finished.

"Oh...um that's uh…"

Trixie frowned and bit her lip. "Yeah, I know, like I said not so romantic."

Verne was practically zoned out, trying to think through this story. He'd thought that they'd been a perfect couple, as compatible as his fake parents had been. He wasn't really doubting this was the case, but he seemed to find it odd their love story wasn't as epic as Doc and Clara's. However he couldn't place the lack of payment into their relationship being healthy.

"It's...cute…" Verne forced himself to say, trying more to reassure himself than compliment the meeting.

"Yeah…" Trixie seemed glazed as she stared in front of her. A minute passed. "You hungry?"

"Yeah I'm starving." Verne said, excited for the subject change.

"Let's go get something to eat."

" _Well...atleast he's still a good dad…"_


	11. Dollhouse

Jules nervously strolled into the kitchen. At the table Clara sat, resting her head in one of her hands, her elbow perched on the table.

"M-m-mo-mother?" Jules asked.

Clara looked over, and he could see the dark rings of exhaustion under her eyes. "What?" She snapped.

"Um, it is almost time for school and I'm inquiring about the food capsules for my midday meal."

Clara glared. "Get out of here you worthless brat..."

Jules whimpered slightly before leaving for school, his stomach growling. Due to the sour feeling in his stomach, he had a hard time focusing on his math test. His head ached and he wasn't sure if he was putting the right numbers in the right answer spaces or not. When he thought he was done he laid his head on his desk and faded in and out of a half like dreaming phase.

….

"Jules?" His teacher called as he tried to slump out of the room.

He looked over, his eyes glazed over. "Y-yes Ms. Applegate?"

"Can you come here for a moment?"

Jules gulped as he went over to her desk, now more alert out of fear. "Y-yes?"

"I need to talk to you about your grades. Your grade went from an A to an A minus and I'm worried. She said this as if it were the worst thing ever rather than something minor.

A month ago, Jules would have been in the same panic boat as her, but now…

"I see…." He said hollowly.

The teacher frowned. "I think we should have a parent teacher conference to discuss this."

Jules panicked. "N-no, please! I-I'll do better I can assure you!"

Mrs. Applegate shook her head. "I'm sorry Jules but I think this would be for the best."

Jules stimmed nervously with his suspender strap and avoided eye contact. "Y-y-yes ma'am…"

…

Jules sat nervously in the chair, kicking his feet back and forth. His stomach churned in a way that made his hunger prangs seem like comforting hugs. His hands shook, and he constantly glanced at the ticking clock overhead, each second's sound sending a shiver down his spine.

Jules stimmed with a paperclip on the desk beside him and began to disassociate. When the door creaked open, he was brought out of this and nervously looked over. His teacher and his parents entered the room.

Mrs. Applegate sat at her desk, while Doc and Clara sat on either side of Jules. Jules continued looking at his hands and bending the paperclip in various directions.

"Thank you for coming Mr and Mrs. Brown. I've called you here to discuss my concerns regarding your son's grades."

"Oh my, what's wrong?" Clara asked. Somehow she had come to the conference sober and not drenched in the smell of alcohol.

"Jules is the smartest kid in my class, however I've noticed lately is grades are slipping. They've gone from an A to an A minus, and are now borderlining B status."

Jules felt inadequate now, especially since he was in the presence of his father.

Clara frowned. "I'm sorry for my son's grades. Things have been hard on all of us since we lost Verne."

Mrs. Applegate nodded. "I think I understand. Is there anyway you can help at home to keep him calm?"

"I suppose we could." Doc said, gently putting his arm around Jules and pulling him closer. Jules whined a bit and focused more on the paperclip.

Mrs. Applegate smiled. "Thank you for coming."

…

When they got home Doc went straight to the garage. Clara went to the kitchen, sighed heavily and poured herself a glass of wine which she chugged in less than a minute. She poured another one before focusing on Jules, narrowing her eyes in disgust.

"You...you brat!" Clara sneered. "You idiot! No wonder Verne left, he was stuck with you!"

"M-m-mo-mother…" Jules whimpered.

Clara snarled before picking up the bottle and chucking it at his face. The glass shattered around his left eye. None stuck, but it left a nasty oval of cuts that would scar for sure.

Jules grabbed his eye in pain. When he pulled back he was shocked to see blood smeared all over. He looked at Clara who just started drinking straight from a different wine bottle. "Now, ged' out you. Idiooot."

Jules started crying as he ran out of the house, heading for The McFlys. However he bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going Butthead!"

"M-my ap-apolo-apologizes Mr. Tannen, s-s-sir." Jules whimpered in reply.

Biff glared him down before softening. "Hey kid, what happened to your eye?"

"I-if you m-mu-must know, my m-mother threw a w-w-wine bottle at me."

Biff was actually worried and leaned down to his level. "She what?"

Jules had never heard him speak so gently before. "W-w-why do you care? I'm sure you've d-done the same to your son…."

"N-no…" He frowned. "I'd never hurt my kid, what's wrong with you!?"

Jules frowned, but inside he was surprised. Biff traced the scar around his eye, causing Jules to whine and pull away.

Biff grabbed Jules' hand tightly and started dragging him. "Come on, Butthead."

Jules was too frightened to ask where they were going. A few minutes later they were entering the Hill Valley sheriff's office.

"W-w-what are we doing here?" Jules stammered. Biff didn't answer him, and just went to the front desk with him in tow.

The sheriff put down his magazine, but rolled his eyes when he saw who it was. "What is it now Mr Tannen? Another 'butthead' interrupting your TV time?"

"Hey! TV time is important! Besides that ain't why I'm here." He pushed Jules toward. "I'm here cause Doc Brown's wife threw a bottle at her kid!"

The sheriff gently cupped Jules' chin to examine his face. He whined and pulled away, to hide behind Biff, who, oddly, was the one he only felt safe around at this moment. The sheriff looked at Jules. "Can you confirm you are being abused by your mother?"

Jules nervously came out from behind Biff. "Y-yes but said abuse only occured o-once…"

The sheriff shook his head. "Abuse is still abuse no matter how many times it happens."

Jules frowned and hid again. The sheriff sighed "We'll have to find a place for you to stay while we deal with this."

"S-sir? I am rather c-close with the Mcflys, they're like kin to me.. If I inquire about staying at their residence, they will no doubt allow me to stay."

The sheriff thought about it for a moment. "We'll have to call them first and set things up, but we'll see what we can do…."

Somehow despite the knots in his stomach, Jules managed to relax.


	12. Dirt Dirt and more Dirt

Trixie frowned as she listened to the phone. "Oh, I'm sorry Artie. No, no I understand. You get your rest hon, we can reschedule. Bye hon."

"What's wrong mom?" Verne asked from the couch he was laying on.

"Artie's sick." She said with a frown. "We were gonna go to the park today, but I guess not."

"Darn." Verne said, sitting up and stretching his arms, yawning a bit. "So are we just gonna hang out here then?"

She blinked. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'hanging out' sweetie, but I do know I still wanna go out."

"All right." He was glad they were doing something. He was desperate for something fun, and they hadn't really done anything recently.

"We can have a picnic." Trixie suggested.

"Sounds good." Verne said, although he would have preferred a cafe or something else. He'd even be fine with the one he was kicked out of when he first got here!

Trixie found an old basket and filled it about halfway with food, then they headed to the park.

They sat down in the grass and opened the basket. Verne took out a cheese sandwich and started to eat it. As he was looking around he saw Emmett reading a book under a tree. He wasn't sure what to feel and looked away, his stomach churning slightly.

Trixie frowned, noticing. "Are you okay hon?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine mom…"

She looked over to where he was looking and spotted Emmett. She smiled and waved. "Hello Emmett!"

Emmett looked up from his book and waved back. Verne nervously stimmed with his fingers and avoided eye contact.

"We're having a picnic, wanna join us?" Trixie asked.

Verne gripped the grass beneath him nervously, hoping he wouldn't.

"Sure. I'm pretty hungry." Emmett said, setting his book down and walking over, plopping himself between the two of them. Verne gripped the grass tighter.

Trixie showed Emmett the open basket and offered him one of the sandwiches. He happily took a cheese one and started to eat it. "So how are you two?"

"We're doing fine." Trixie said.

"Yeah...we're fine…" Verne mumbled, still focused on the ground.

Emmett frowned. "Are you okay Verne?"

"...Yeah…."

Trixie noticed his tenseness and gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're all right Verne?"

"Y-yeah mom, I-I'm okay. My stomach just kinda hurts."

"Oh, sweetie." Trixie frowned. "Maybe you're hungry?"

"Did you know some animals eat grass when they have an upset stomach?" Emmett asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Verne frowned. "I-I'm not gonna eat grass…"

Emmett chuckled a bit. "I hope not."

There was a few awkward moments of silence before Trixie spoke up again, "So how's the sandwich?"

"It's good, thank you." Emmett replied.

Trixie smiled, "Why don't we take a walk after?"

"Sounds good to me." Emmett replied.

"Sure…" Said Verne, not really paying attention.

"Great!" Trixie said with an even bigger smile. When they finished they walked around the park, Verne gripping his mom's hand tightly. Emmett was talking about the book he was reading _Backwards to Britain._

Verne zoned out slightly. He wasn't really interested in the books of his namesake, only things like the movie adaptations. In fact the best one he saw was when he and his family had a time travel trip to 2004 and saw _Around The World in 80 Days._

In his distraction, he tripped and fell over. Verne whined and gripped his elbow.

"Are you okay?" Trixie asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah." Verne said, wincing. He pulled up his sleeve showing his slightly bleeding elbow.

Trixie frowned. "Oh dear, we have to get that washed up hon."

"I've been working on a non stinging antibiotic." Emmett chimed in. "Perhaps you'd like me to use it on your abrasion?"

"Um….I-I guess…"

"All right, come with me." Emmett said. He lead them to his small, secret laboratory, albit no bolted doors were present.

Verne looked around, surprised at it's small size.

"Amazing isn't it?" Emmett said, beaming in excitement.

"Err yeah amazing." Verne replied awkwardly. _Amazingly small that is…._

"Now, sit here." Emmett said, tapping a small, old, wooden chair. Verne sat and swung his legs idly. A few moments later Emmett returned with a small spray bottle and grabbed Verne's arm. "Now hold still."

He sprayed a bit of it onto Verne's elbow. Verne winced, half expecting it to sting, but to his surprise it felt minty cool.

"I told you it wouldn't sting." Emmett grinned. He patted a bandage on Verne's arm gently, reminding him of the summers of cuts and bruises he had and how Doc would always be this gentle, but that was before….. "It looks good now. I was wondering if you two wanted to join me for a walk? I'm gathering dirt samples from all over Hill Valley to compare them and would love the company."

"We'd love to!" Trixie said.

"Sure." Verne said, shrugging slightly, starting to accept he probably wouldn't be able to ever escape Emmett if he stayed in Hill Valley anyway.

It was rather warm today and Verne felt very warm under his heavy 1930s clothes. Besides video games, he missed more than anything from the 90s was T-shirts and shorts being commonplace to wear.

"The park has softer dirt than the dirt around the courthouse." Emmett said to himself as he wrote it down in a small notebook.

Verne started to get bored and kicked the grass with the toe of his shoe. Emmett noticed this and frowned. "You want to help me gather samples?"

"All right." Verne shrugged.

The three headed just outside Peabody's farm. Emmett, Verne, and Trixie knelt down to gather a dirt sample. "This dirt seems rather dry,"

"If it wasn't it would be mud wouldn't it?" Verne snarked.

Emmett laughed. "Not quite."

"But it's wet enough for throwing." Verne grinned.

Before Emmett could ask what he meant, Verne flung dirt at him and laughed. To his surprise however, Emmett laughed too and threw some dirt back at him. Trixie giggled and joined in on the dirt throwing.

Soon all three were covered in dirt, laughing loudly. Verne started to relax and smirked at Emmett playfully, causing him to giggle.

"Hey!" They heard someone yell moments later. They looked over and saw a young farm man, whom Verne assumed was Mr. Peabody.

"I think we should apologize and explain ourselves to him." Emmett whispered.

"I think we should…. **run**!" Verne yelled before bolting off. Trixie and Emmett scrambled to keep up with him as Mr. Peabody yelled and cursed at them.

When they finally got out of sight of the farm, the three of them were panting heavily, before breaking out into laughter.

"That was awesome!" Verne said.

"I ain't had fun like that in a long time!" Trixie added.

"Me neither actually." Emmett said. He playfully ruffled Verne's hair and he laughed.

He started to wonder if Emmett really did take him. Someone this nice couldn't do that...right?


	13. What's in a Family

Jules sat on Marty's bed holding his knees tightly to his chest. He sighed as he pressed his face against his knees. Marty sat beside him, gently stroking his back in comfort. Jules whined and rested his head on Marty's shoulder, the cut around his eye was red and sore looking. At this point everyone realized it wasn't going away.

"T-thanks for letting me stay M-Martin…"

"It's no problem Jules, I'm just glad you're all right."

To Jules it felt like Marty was the only one who cared. There was a knock on the door, startling both of them.

"Who's there?" Marty asked.

"It's me." Jennifer called from the other side.

"Come in!" Marty called. Jennifer came in and sat next to Jules.

"How are you holding up?" She asked gently.

"I-I-I'm feeling dreadful." Jules sighed. Jennifer frowned and gently stroked his back in comfort.

"I'm sorry." She said, frowning. "I want you to know I'm here for you too."

Jules hugged her and allowed himself to cry as she and Marty comforted. "T-t-thank you...b-b-both of you…"

"You're welcome." Marty said, stroking his hair. "We'll always be here for you."

"Th-thank you…" Jules sniffled. There was silence as they all sat there snuggled together. Jules felt safe, and happy for the first time since Verne left. Squished between the two of them his eyes slowly shut and he fell asleep.


End file.
